*** This review may contain spoilers ***
*Plot and ending analyzed*
Chrysanthemums for a Flock of Carrion
Crisantemi per un branco di carogne (1968)
I remember when I was in Spain and Italy seeking work as a stunt man in the 1960s, that I came across many Italian movie directors. And they were really nice and friendly and would eventually invite you to dinner. Sergio Pastore I met when he was filming Sette scialli di seta gialla (The Crimes of the Black Cat 1972).
Later, I visited Italy in the 1980s and would try to find out about any Italian movie directors that I had met, or at least heard about. I was able to see Crisantemi per un branco di carogne (1968), courtesy of the director's children.
The plot is about an old gunfighter, who has long given up his pistols. He is now a priest at the local church. Some bandits attack the town and kidnap a beautiful woman. They first want to get a ransom from her wealthy father, but then, after a night of drinking tequila, one of them mentions that the head bandit should marry her instead. They all laugh, not taking it very seriously, but the head bandit actually likes the idea. So they all go to the church and the priest. The priest is reluctant and denies them a request. So the bandits beat him up.
Later, after he tries to regain his gunfighter skills and also his health, he tracks the bandits down so he can kill them.
English actor Edmund Purdom plays the priest. He went to Italy because they needed American and English actors for many of their movies.
A few other movies that I have seen are similar to this one. Heaven with a Gun (1969), in which actor Glenn Ford plays a gunslinger-turned-preacher. A Mexican Western, El cuatro dedos (1978), in which a priest hunts down some murderers. Robert Mitchum as a swindler masquerading as a Catholic priest in The Wrath of God (1972).
The movie itself is only average, but it is interesting for the unusual theme.
The movie title came from, in Italy, chrysanthemums symbolize death and are used specifically for funerals, or on tombstones or graves. Quite an apt title, but one that probably would confuse the general audiences of the world.
So if you can watch it, go ahead, but it hardly stands out in the movie pack of European Westerns.
*Plot and ending analyzed*
Chrysanthemums for a Flock of Carrion
Crisantemi per un branco di carogne (1968)
I remember when I was in Spain and Italy seeking work as a stunt man in the 1960s, that I came across many Italian movie directors. And they were really nice and friendly and would eventually invite you to dinner. Sergio Pastore I met when he was filming Sette scialli di seta gialla (The Crimes of the Black Cat 1972).
Later, I visited Italy in the 1980s and would try to find out about any Italian movie directors that I had met, or at least heard about. I was able to see Crisantemi per un branco di carogne (1968), courtesy of the director's children.
The plot is about an old gunfighter, who has long given up his pistols. He is now a priest at the local church. Some bandits attack the town and kidnap a beautiful woman. They first want to get a ransom from her wealthy father, but then, after a night of drinking tequila, one of them mentions that the head bandit should marry her instead. They all laugh, not taking it very seriously, but the head bandit actually likes the idea. So they all go to the church and the priest. The priest is reluctant and denies them a request. So the bandits beat him up.
Later, after he tries to regain his gunfighter skills and also his health, he tracks the bandits down so he can kill them.
English actor Edmund Purdom plays the priest. He went to Italy because they needed American and English actors for many of their movies.
A few other movies that I have seen are similar to this one. Heaven with a Gun (1969), in which actor Glenn Ford plays a gunslinger-turned-preacher. A Mexican Western, El cuatro dedos (1978), in which a priest hunts down some murderers. Robert Mitchum as a swindler masquerading as a Catholic priest in The Wrath of God (1972).
The movie itself is only average, but it is interesting for the unusual theme.
The movie title came from, in Italy, chrysanthemums symbolize death and are used specifically for funerals, or on tombstones or graves. Quite an apt title, but one that probably would confuse the general audiences of the world.
So if you can watch it, go ahead, but it hardly stands out in the movie pack of European Westerns.
